Travis Allen for CAGOP Chairman? I Still Support Steve Frank: Here's Why

Here's the latest update about the race for California Republican Party Chairman race is heating up.

Assemblyman and former gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen is going to jump into the race!

Assemblyman Travis Allen weighing run for chairman of California Republican Party

Having fallen short in his recent campaign for governor, conservative state Assemblyman Travis Allen said Monday that he is weighing a run for chairman of the state GOP with the goal of “leading California Republicans back to statewide relevance.”

For the record, I supported Travis Allen for Governor. He is young, energetic, charismatic.

He worked very hard, travelling all over the state. He stood his ground on all the major issues, including his vocal opposition to the corrupt Sanctuary State Law.

Allen, a resident of Huntington Beach, said he talked Monday with party Chairman Jim Brulte about the operations and priorities of the state party in preparation for making a decision on whether to vie for the leadership job.

There is another candidate whom other people are not talking about.

His name is Steve Frank, and I am supporting his bid for Chairman of the state party.

Brulte has said he will not seek another two years as leader when his term ends in February, and a candidacy by Allen would set up another contest with former Assemblyman David Hadley, a social moderate who also ran for governor before dropping out of the race after two weeks in 2017.

David Hadley is also a puppet of the New Majority, or better termed "The New Permanent Minority". Jim Brulte is the longest-serving chairman of the California Republican Party in the state's history. There were wins and there were massive losses. The party did well in 2014, but mostly because of gaining seats which Republicans had lost in 2012.

We have so much work ahead of us, and we need to make sure that our candidates win. We just can't sit back and let the state slide into the abyss. Even if the state party does poorly this term, with Steve Frank as chairman, we have a fighting chance of winning again.

Frank is a realistic optimist. He fights where it matters, and he wants to do whatever it takes to make a difference in the state of California.

“I’ve been asked by a number of supporters and I am seriously considering it,” Allen said of running for state chairman. He complained that Republicans in California "are dramatically underrepresented at the state and congressional level.”

Travis Allen could run, but Steve Frank knows the inner workings of the state party. He also knows how candidates need to compete in different regions of the state, including the cultural differences among the counties and even in the cities.

Allen, who has received support from tea party conservatives, finished fourth in the June primary for governor with a campaign promising lower taxes, tighter security at the U.S.-Mexico border and tougher law enforcement. His campaign fell short after the state Republican Party decided not to endorse in the primary for the governor’s race.

Let's not forget that President Trump endorsed John Cox for Governor. That sealed the deal enough so that Cox made it into the Top Two.

Allen, who leaves the Assembly later this year, has endorsed Republican John Cox against Democrat Gavin Newsom in the November election. He said he plans to talk to more party activists before finalizing his decision on whether to seek the chairmanship.

Travis Allen has endorsed John Cox. So let's move on. Thank you.

“If it’s the consensus of California Republicans to have me run to be the next chairman, I would be honored,” Allen said.

No thank you.

Former Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a conservative who is running for Congress against Rep. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), said the possibility of an Allen candidacy is “exciting” and he noted Allen has been helping GOP candidates in the November election.

I could not agree more with Tim Donnelly's assessment. We need an exciting conservative, but we also need a conservative who knows how to raise money, to organize the grassroots, how to work with candidates, and who above all wants to return power back to the delegates and the Republican voters in the state of California.

“He has a lot of support from the Trump movement,” Donnelly said, adding hat Allen is “much more of a populist and a conservative” than Hadley.

Very much so. I do not want David Hadley to be the next chairman. He may be a nice guy to many people, but he is not my choice for chairman.

The possibility of Allen becoming the party chairman raised some concerns with Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant based in Sacramento who has been highly critical of Trump. He noted a key job of the party chairman is to raise money for Republican candidates.

Rob Stutzman can kiss my butt.

“Travis certainly created enthusiasm with grassroots Republicans, but he did not create enthusiasm with donors,” Stutzman said. “The future of the party would be better in the hands of someone who has the confidence of donors.”

This kind of calculus is precisely the problem. We have party leaders who are more worried about raising money than winning votes. This is a big problem, and it explains why our leadership continues to fail us.

Having someone closely allied with Trump policies would also be a concern, he said. 

“The party has receded in the era of Trump,” Stutzman said. “That’s not good for the party’s future in California.”

The party has been receding for the last twenty years.

Republican voter registration in California has fallen from 35% in 2002 to 25% this year.

Donnelly said he is concerned Hadley wants to move the party closer to the ideology of Democrats.

He does. David Hadley voted for assisted suicide, he voted to allow illegal aliens to get onto the Obamacare healthcare exchanges. In his 2014 debate for state assembly, he supported allowing illegal aliens to get drivers' licenses. He also supports same-sex marriage.

“As long as the party moderates, it keeps shrinking,” Donnelly said.

We need a popular revolt that pays attention to the individual liberties of California's citizenry and will work to stop the abuses against faith, family, and freedom.

Travis Allen is a great guy, sure, and I proudly voted for him in the primary.

But when it comes to the next Chairman of the State Party, I am going with Steve Frank.

Here's why:

1. We need people who have not been legislators. A political party needs to be returned to the people, to the voters. I remember talking with another Republican activist in San Diego. He had written this great article "Republicans, it's time to be audacious!" I could not agree more, since we really have nothing left to lose. Legislators are keen on making deals and connecting with every side of the aisle. They have to. That's their job. That's what they have to do.

As for heading a partisan organization, however, we need someone who understands how the inner workings of the party work, and who has worked with everyday people in the state of California to make a difference. Steve Frank has worked with candidates of all backgrounds to win elections. He has no problem working from behind the scenes to make a difference.

A good chairman is not the center of attention. A good chairman operates behind the scenes to ensure that winning candidates make it into the primary and through the general election.

Travis Allen is a full-on celebrity. He is a legislator with other forms of experience. But the inner workings of the party and the necessary connection with the delegates and the inner levers of power are aspects of the political machinery which he is unfamiliar with. He is not a team player, but he is a leader, no doubt about that. He should lead the fight for elected office in the state capitol.

He is not chairman material.

As for David Hadley, he is too liberal. He is not for the best interests of the state party. We need a plenary conservative who will stand up for what is right concerning all issues.

That man is Steve Frank.